Saturday, March 8, 2014

Hola, darlings! Happy Women's Day to all of my sisters by gender, wherever you may be. Today, March 8, 2014, women around the world are celebrating and commemorating where we have been, how far we have come, and where we have yet to go in our communal journey living on our beautiful Earth as human beings.

In the image above, ancient Egyptian Priestess, Meretites, and her husband, Kahai, a singer and Director of Music at one of the ancient temples, share a loving moment. Notice the eye to eye contact and how Meretites is depicted not as a miniature woman at her husband's feet, but as an equal. It is Meretites initiating the intimacy by placing her arm around her husband's shoulders, her hand resting near Kahai's neck. This beautiful painting is from their joint tomb, found at Saqarra and dating to about 4,400 years ago. Women in ancient Egyptian culture had many rights not granted to women in other cultures (sadly, still today in many cultures), including the right to work for pay and keep their own money, the right to own property and to run their own businesses, the right to enter into contracts in their own names, the right to legal process before the courts, and the right to inherit property and devolve their own property to others.

The website for International Women's Day 2014 has a brief history of how this memorial day for women came about. Celebrations and special events are planned for this day all over the world. Today, please take a moment to reflect upon the women in your own life, and what your life would be like without them.

...so wrote ancient Egyptian soldier Polion while serving with a Roman army unit in Hungary some 1,800 years ago.

We don't know if his family received the letters, or if they replied, or if they did reply, that Polion ever received their letters in return. No instant messaging or email back then and no U.S. Postal Service or FEDEX. Did the Romans have a form of postal service for its soldiers scattered all over the known world at that time? Yes, they did! This is what a sidebar in the article says:

The back of the letter contains instructions for the carrier to deliver it to a military veteran whose name may have been Acutius Leon who could forward it to Polion's family. Although the Roman Empire had a military postal system, Polion appears not to have used it, entrusting the veteran instead.

A newly deciphered letter home dating back around 1,800 years reveals the pleas of a young Egyptian soldier named Aurelius Polion who was serving, probably as a volunteer, in a Roman legion in Europe.

In the letter, written mainly in Greek, Polion tells his family that he is desperate to hear from them and that he is going to request leave to make the long journey home to see them.

Addressed to his mother (a bread seller), sister and brother, part of it reads: "I pray that you are in good health night and day, and I always make obeisance before all the gods on your behalf. I do not cease writing to you, but you do not have me in mind," it reads.

"I am worried about you because although you received letters from me often, you never wrote back to me so that I may know how you ..." (Part of the letter hasn't survived.)

(Reuters) - A statue of the daughter of King Amenhotep III, grandfather of Tutankhamen and ruler of Egypt around 3,350 years ago, has been unearthed by a team of Egyptian and European archaeologists.
The statue of Princess Iset was discovered at the temple of her pharaoh father on the western bank of the Nile in the southern city of Luxor, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said on Friday.

The new discovery is the first known representation of Iset alone with her father, the ministry said, noting that sculptures on display at the Egyptian Museum depict her and her siblings together with the 18th Dynasty ruler.

The statue is only 1.7 meters (yards) high and is part of a huge, 14-metre alabaster statue of Amenhotep III himself that has been excavated in recent years, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency MENA.

The statue was found between the feet of the seated king. Iset's name and royal title are inscribed near her feet, but her face has suffered from erosion.

Amenhotep III presided over an era which saw a renaissance in Egyptian art. He was succeeded by his son Akhenaten, the sun-worshipping pharaoh credited by some for starting the world's first known monotheistic religion.

Some of ancient Egypt's biggest monuments were constructed during Amenhotep III's reign.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Fundies are fundies: The Taliban, so-called "Christian" (ha!) Bible-thumpers here in the USA, and now, certain Hindus objecting to scholarship based on their own HIStory -- all looking to erase truth in favor of lies and hypocrisy. Lengthy article, WORTH THE READ. Bullies are in the ascendant everywhere in the world today, it seems. Do you know the only real way to deal with a bully? You have to beat the shit out of him - or her - or IT. Sometimes you can't take the high road.

What is the ultimate irony: if this fascist Hindu group thinks it will now forever suppress the reading of Wendy Doniger's book, ooooh yeah, dudes (fools)! Just keep on believing that...

These are grim times for scholars who study India. For years, in both India and the US, the RSS and its allies have bullied and attacked scholars of ancient history and religion who do not portray the past and the gods according to their narrow orthodoxy. What is different now is that the politics of fear is in the ascendant. People previously committed to open scholarship and public debate are running for the hills. And now, with the withdrawal and pulping of Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History, the bullies have scored a major victory. Penguin, after fighting the legal case against Doniger for four years, suddenly folded, saying that it would be difficult to continue defending Doniger without “deliberately placing themselves outside the law” — the law in question being Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which forbids “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens”. [Sounds suspiciously like a certain bill passed into law that was recently vetoed by the reluctant Governor of the state of Arizona that was labeled a "freedom of religion" law that would have allowed blatant discrimination against anyone who the business owner or an employee, based soley upon his or her own impression and "instinct," deemed religiously persona non grata!)

Penguin’s claim is ridiculous. The lawsuit is extremely weak. It is poorly written and argued, contains absurd errors (even the purported quotes from the book are inaccurate), and its attempt to satisfy the law’s demand for malicious intent is childish — accusing Doniger, a secular Jew, of “Christian missionary zeal” and suggesting that her historically accurate references to sexual elements in the tradition were motivated by her being “a woman hungry of sex”. Ironically, the parts of the book that, according to the lawsuit, show Hinduism in a bad light are simply parts that are true and there: the Hindu tradition is replete with non-judgemental allusions to a variety of sexual desires and activities, including those of the gods, whether the new Hindu fundamentalists like this or not. So how could anyone be convicted of defaming a religion simply because she points to texts that some people would rather forget? As Doniger said recently in The New York Times, the shoe is on the other foot: it is they who say parts of their own religion are bad, whereas she admires Hinduism’s treatment of sexuality as natural and beautiful.

The Armenian Chess Federation is the host of this year's 2014 European Individual Chess Championship, taking place March 2-15, 2014 (play dates March 3-8, rest day March 9, March 10-14). Official website.

Top prize is $20,000, and there is some tough competition, with 263 players!

Among them are some chess femmes, including GM Judit Polgar! Glad to see her playing and I was shocked -- I thought she was retired! Here are the ladies according to players' list:

Judit ranks 17th by ELO overall:

17

GM

Polgar Judit

700070

HUN

2693

w

106

GM

Dzagnidze Nana

13601903

GEO

2546

w

127

GM

Stefanova Antoaneta

2902257

BUL

2486

w

132

GM

Danielian Elina

13300210

ARM

2467

w

134

IM

Mkrtchian Lilit

13300601

ARM

2465

w

140

IM

Melia Salome

13602446

GEO

2453

w

148

WGM

Goryachkina Aleksandra

4147103

RUS

2428

w

166

IM

Bulmaga Irina

13903063

ROU

2375

w

168

WGM

Arabidze Meri

13604040

GEO

2374

w

179

WGM

Charochkina Daria

4180917

RUS

2359

w

187

WGM

Kursova Maria

4129709

ARM

2326

w

188

IM

Galojan Lilit

13301314

ARM

2317

w

198

WGM

Cherednichenko Svetlana

14105551

UKR

2270

w

214

WIM

Pavlidou Ekaterini

4213262

GRE

2192

w

215

WIM

Hairapetian Anna

13303554

ARM

2188

w

218

WFM

Gevorgyan Maria

13300270

ARM

2180

w

234

Imnadze Nato

13600974

GEO

2100

w

236

Bykova Anastasia

4164970

RUS

2097

w

238

Sargsyan Shushanna

13304372

ARM

2093

w

241

Babayan Armine

13304135

ARM

2085

w

251

Karapetyan Lusine

13303163

ARM

1985

w

After 4 rounds, here are the top players and whatever chess femmes I could pick out of the list:

Don't you just love them! Each one is slightly different from the others - different helmets, different shields. And the gnawing on the shields -- great touch! I believe (but am not 100% certain) that these are pawns.

I hopped over to the British Museum's website to find out more about the exhibition. I've been fascinated by the Vikings for a long time, not least of which I still remember the old movie "The Vikings" with Tony Curtis as an improbable Greek slave flashing traces of a Brooklyn accent, and Kirk Douglas flashing endless muscles (were those really his arms???), chewing up the scenery every chance he got! Say what you will about their acting skills, they sure were sexy back in the day :)

Check out the special page "BP exhibition Vikings Life and Legend" that started today (March 6, 2014) and runs through June 22, 2014. There is a separate admission fee for this exhibit, 16.50 Pounds if paid in person (although members get in free), and additional charges apply for booking tickets on line or via telephone.

Discover the world of the Vikings in this major exhibition – the first at the British Museum for over 30 years.

The Viking Age (800–1050) was a period of major change across Europe. The Vikings expanded from their Scandinavian homelands to create an international network connecting cultures over four continents, where artistic, religious and political ideas met.

The Vikings’ skill in shipbuilding and seafaring was central to their culture and achievements, and at the heart of the exhibition will be a 37-metre-long warship. Found in 1997, and dating to around 1025, it is the longest Viking ship ever discovered. Many other new discoveries, including part of a mass grave of Viking warriors, will be on display for the first time showing how our understanding of the Vikings is still being changed by new excavations and recent research.

The exhibition will also present personal objects, including jewellery, amulets and idols, which help to reveal more about how the Vikings saw themselves and their world. Exquisite objects, including the magnificent Vale of York Hoard, demonstrate the global reach of the Viking network of trade, plunder and power – a network that left a lasting legacy in countries from Ireland and the UK to Russia and Ukraine.

Enter a world of warriors, seafarers and conquerors to discover the many fascinating aspects of a history that is both strangely alien yet remarkably familiar.

Monsoon hiatus that began 4,200 years ago parallels dry spell that led civilizations to collapse in other regions.

Emma Marris

03 March 2014

The decline of Bronze-Age civilizations in Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia has been attributed to a long-term drought that began around 2000 bc. [Well attested.] Now palaeoclimatologists propose that a similar fate was followed by the enigmatic Indus Valley Civilization, at about the same time. Based on isotope data from the sediment of an ancient lake, the researchers suggest that the monsoon cycle, which is vital to the livelihood of all of South Asia, essentially stopped there for as long as two centuries.

The Indus Valley, in present Pakistan and northwest India, was home to a civilization also known as the Harappan Civilization. It was characterized by large, well-planned cities with advanced municipal sanitation systems and a script that has never been deciphered. But the Harappans seemed to slowly lose their urban cohesion, and their cities were gradually abandoned.

The link between this gradual decline and climate has been tenuous because of a dearth of climate records from the region. So Yama Dixit, a palaeoclimatologist at the University of Cambridge, UK, and her colleagues examined sediments from Kotla Dahar, an ancient lake near the northeastern edge of the Indus Valley area in Haryana, India, that still seasonally floods.

The team assigned ages to sediment layers using radiocarbon dating of organic matter. In various layers, they collected the preserved shells of tiny lake snails (Melanoides tuberculata), which are made of a form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) called aragonite. The team also looked at the oxygen in the argonite molecules, counting the ratio of the rare oxygen-18 isotope to the more prevalent oxygen-16.

I will forever be grateful for the two trips I was able to take to New York City (2005, 2009) with Mr. Don, Georgia and Michelle Albert. During the 2009 stay in NYC, one of the places we visited was the China Institute:

Mr. Don and I were in the lobby of the Institute, photographed by Georgia (Isis). This exhibit we saw, the Tombs of Mawangdui, including some artifacts from the tomb of the Countess Dai and a replica of the silk banner that had been, somehow, preserved in her tomb, AWESOME!

It may be relatively small in space, but when it comes to putting on blockbuster exhibits, the China Institute ranks with the best! The 2009 Noble Tombs of Mawangdui was just one of many incredible exhibits, bringing to the United States things we would otherwise only see online (maybe). So I'm very happy to publish this announcement:

In conjunction with Asia Week New York 2014, join us for an intimate evening of dialogue with curators and artists, exploring our current exhibition, Inspired by Dunhuang: Re-creation in Contemporary Chinese Art. Light refreshments will be served.

Like the old masters before them, modern and contemporary luminaries, such as Zhang Daqian, Zhang Hongtu, Liu Jude, Liu Dan, and Yu Hong, have sought inspiration from Dunhuang's ancient sculptures and murals. Inspired by Dunhuang presents the breathtaking results of their painstaking and creative efforts, which capture the experience of Dunhuang in ways that are powerfully transformative. With its carefully curated group of paintings, calligraphy, sculptures, photographs, and mixed media installations that encompass a variety of themes and forms, this exhibition is a pioneering exploration of the historical, literary, artistic, and conceptual nature of the inspiration and influence exerted by Dunhuang's thousand-year-old tradition on contemporary artistic creation. Organized by China Institute Gallery, this exhibition is curated by Willow Weilan Hai, Director of China Institute Gallery, and Jerome Silbergeld, the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Professor of Chinese Art History, the Chair of the Department of Art & Archaeology at Princeton University, and the Director of Princeton's Tang Center for East Asian Art.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the generous support of the W.L.S. Spencer Foundation and China Institute Friends of the Gallery.

Sounds sooo fricking cool -- right there, being able to talk face to face with the curators and the artists! If you are in the New York city area, or are planning on being in NYC on March 18th, please check into it further. By the way, the area surrounding the China Institute is built for walkers, loaded with shops, delis, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, and bars (taverns? -- not sure what they call them in NYC, here in Milwaukee we just call 'em bars), not to mention wonderful architecture and you know those beautiful well-dressed women you see at Advanced Style - well, I'm just saying you see them all over the place in this neighborhood! Even better than walking up Fifth Avenue toward the Met.

I have just finished shopping online for the items to go into the gift bags for the top female finisher in each of the Open and Reserve Sections at the upcoming Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIX on April 12th. I LUV shopping online - so easy!

Received in my in-box this morning an announcement from the 9Queens organization, based in Tucson, Arizona, founded by Jean Hoffman and Jennifer Shahade. Jean is currently the Executive Director of the U.S. Chess Federation and continues her close association with 9Queens, while co-founder Jennifer Shahade, a two-time women's U.S. Chess Champion, continues to make special chess appearances and delights us all with her savvy and salient commentary at various U.S. chess events, often paired with GM Ben Feingold and GM Maurice Ashley, in addition to her work for the U.S. Chess Federation -- see her latest there, by the way:

...and she plays high stakes poker, too. Oh, did I mention she has also written a couple of best-selling chess books? And is on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chess Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri, which is located across the street from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. It's a beautiful area and the museum, it's fabulous! Go visit -- but not in August -- too damn hot and humid.

Back to that email announcement from 9Queens! Here are some of the particulars, and it looks like it is stacking up to be the biggest and bestest yet:

On April 26, 2014 from 12-3 pm, Hotel Congress will play host to 9 Queens 7th Annual Chess Fest, a community wide celebration, with special guest 19 year old Rochelle Ballantyne. Featured in the inspirational documentary Brooklyn Castle, Rochelle sits on the verge of history as she becomes the first African-American female chess Master.

"Rochelle is the perfect embodiment of what the 9 Queens Player of the Year Award is about. She represents an individual with incredible passion for the game and someone who has shared her talents with youth in her community. She serves as a fantastic role model for how hard work and dedication pay off, and can ultimately lead someone to achieving their dreams.

- Amanda Mateer Women's Fide Master and recipient of the 2013 9 Queens Player of the Year Award

Goddesschess fans, if you have not yet seen the remarkable documentary Brooklyn Castle, which has aired on PBS, please find it and watch it. I cannot say enough about the people behind the making of this documentary and the dedicated people who work with the young people at IS 318 in Brooklyn, day in and day out. It is one of the most incredibly successful chess programs in the United States and PROVES that just because a child comes from a disadvantaged background doesn't mean that child is stupid or lazy and cannot excel. I am a big Rochelle Ballantyne fan. Ms. Ballantyne, now 19 (I believe) currently attends Stanford University. Dedicated, resourceful, talented, powerfully driven -- all of these things are Rochelle Ballantyne:

The 9Queens 7th Annual Chess Fest is doing a fundraiser right now. 9Queens' goal is to raise $5,000 toward the costs of holding the 9Queens 7th Annual Chess Fest in Tucson by April 19, 2014. So far, $2,066 has been raised, so they're nearly half way to their goal! I hope you will consider making a donation to 9Queens for this event. Any donation, no matter how small you may think it, add up to making this Festival possible for the women and kids of Tucson. For U.S. citizens, donating to this U.S. approved charitable/educational institution, your contribution is tax-deductible if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A.

Archaeologists have discovered Germany’s second oldest church hidden within a cathedral in the west of the country.

In the so-called "Old Cathedral" in Mainz, which is today the evangelical Church of St John, archaeologists found the remains of another church built 1,200 years ago in the time of Charlemagne, Deacon Andreas Klodt said on Tuesday.

Only Trier on the Mosel River has an older church, with its cathedral dating back to Roman times, making the find the second oldest church in the country.

Professor Matthias Untermann from the Institute of Art History in Heidelberg said the remains of the Carolingian walls stretched from the basement to the roof.

“This is a big surprise,” he said.

The Rhineland-Palatinate state curator Joachim Glatz said: "This is the only surviving Carolingian cathedral in Germany."

Usually a bishop would build a cathedral in the Middle Ages at the exact location of the previous building, getting rid of the older church. But in Mainz the 1,000-year-old "Old Cathedral" was incorporated into the Carolingian one.

And according to Knöchlein two human skeletons have been found during the excavations - remains of earlier burials in the church.

The building has been used since the 19th Century as a church by the evangelical community.

During World War II, it was largely destroyed by fire after a bomb attack. Demolition was considered but was rejected. The dig is continuing.

***************************************************************

So, WHO was buried in those two graves uncovered????? Royals? Any guesses as to how old the tombs are? Male? Female?

Extremely rare. Actually, I don't recall ever reading about a "stone" being decorated on both sides with cup and ring markings. That doesn't, of course, mean they are not out there, just that I don't remember reading of them.

A rare example of prehistoric rock art has been uncovered
in the Highlands.

Archaeologists made the discovery while moving a boulder decorated with
ancient cup and ring marks to a new location in Ross-shire. When they turned the stone over they found the same impressions on the other
side of the rock. It is one of only a few decorated stones of its kind.

John Wombell, of North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NOSAS), said:
"This is an amazing discovery."

Susan Kruse, of Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH), first
discovered the stone at Heights of Fodderty several years ago when out
walking.

The second set of cup and ring marks were uncovered recently when
archaeologists were moving the stone to a new site at nearby Heights of Brae
Neil Gunn Viewpoint.

From the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the art was created between 4,000 and 5,000
years ago.

Archaeologists believe the markings may have been made for a number of
reasons. These include for rituals, as territorial markers or mapping the stars. They
could even be the "doodlings" of bored, ancient shepherds.

Ms Kruse said: "Finding cup and ring decoration on the opposite side has
raised a number of tantalising questions. Was the decoration meant to be viewed from both sides or was one decorated
side deliberately placed face down? Or was the stone carved at different times?"

Mr Wombell, who is leading a project to record rock art in the Highlands and
Grampian, said it was an important discovery. He said: "Although some stones are decorated on different faces, I only know
of a few other stones with decoration on opposite sides."

The archaeologist said most boulders with markings were too heavy to turn
over to find out if they were decorated on the reverse side. [What? Like there is no modern equipment they could use to turn a boulder over? Come on!]

The stone in the new discovery was moved by crofters about 200 years ago when
they used it for building a dyke.

Our Commitment to Chess

Scholarships for Chess Femmes

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2012 Goddesschess Canadian Women's Closed Chess Championship

2014 SPONSORSHIPS

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIXApril 12, 2014Milwaukee, WIPrizes for female players in Open and Reserve sections and paid entry to next HCCC for top female finisher in each section. This is Goddesschess' 12th HCCC!

Goddesschess Fighting Spirit Award

2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

2013 SPONSORSHIPS

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVIIIOctober 12, 2013Milwaukee, WIRecord prize money awarded to chess femmes - $800!In honor of National Chess Day and the one year anniversary of the passing of our webmaster, researcher and writer, Don McLean, additional prizes of $150 were awarded to the top two male finishers in each Section.Milwaukee Summer Challenge IIJune 15 - 16, 2013Milwaukee, WIPrizes for the chess femmes and funding a best game prize

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"Advanced Chess" Leon 2002

About Me

I'm one of the founders of Goddesschess, which went online May 6, 1999. I earned an under-graduate degree in history and economics going to college part-time nights, weekends and summer school while working full-time, and went on to earn a post-graduate degree (J.D.) I love the challenge of research, and spend my spare time reading and writing about my favorite subjects, travelling and working in my gardens. My family and my friends are most important in my life. For the second half of my life, I'm focusing on "doable" things to help local chess initiatives, starting in my own home town. And I'm experiencing a sort of personal "Renaissance" that is leaving me rather breathless...